The nation’s apex maritime regulator, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has disclosed that a pivotal innovation, Maritime Enhanced Monitoring System (MEMS) has enhanced its ability to address marine pollution from ships, improved visibility of vessel movements, operational logs and other aspects of regulatory services.
NIMASA’s management disclosed this in a press statement disseminated on Sunday, where it encouraged the public to disregard false publications alleging that the agency has embarked on a concession of its operations.
In the statement signed by the Head of Public Relations, Mr. Osagie Edward, the agency maintained that the current leadership of NIMASA has embraced technology as a means of enhancing the capacity to deliver on its regulatory mandate more effectively and to bring into the coffers of government additional revenue.
“MEMS brings digital traceability to the core of Nigeria’s maritime operations. MEMS provides real-time visibility into vessel movements, operational logs, and regulatory interactions. Through automated alerts, smart invoicing, and centralized data integration, NIMASA can now detect, document, and respond to maritime activities with greater precision and efficiency—eliminating unnecessary bottlenecks while strengthening compliance.
“The additional recipients targeted are, waste reception services, a routine operation for both domestic and international vessels have traditionally lacked proper tracking, resulting in unmonitored activities and significant revenue losses. With MEMS, each waste offload can be logged, time-stamped, and automatically billed, converting previously missed opportunities into a consistent revenue stream while ensuring environmental standards are met.
“Marine pollution control, another critical area of NIMASA’s mandate, has similarly been constrained by limited digital tools. In the absence of satellite tracking and automated reporting, pollution events often go unnoticed or are reported too late to mitigate their impact. With the integration of modern surveillance systems, digital logbooks, and real-time alerts, NIMASA can now respond swiftly to such incidents, recover environmental damages, and hold polluters accountable—both legally and financially,” the report stated.
The management stressed that there is no iota of truth in the claims that the agency is concessioning its activities, adding that such assertions are the hand-work of some external and internal elements who have conspired to benefit from the current porous system.
“It is important to emphasize that past revenue shortfalls experienced by the Agency mainly stemmed from outdated manual processes, fragmented data systems, and insufficient digital enforcement mechanisms which allowed some external elements to capitalize on the loopholes for personal gains.
“The current reforms being implemented by NIMASA are focused squarely on overcoming these limitations. By investing in digital infrastructure and streamlining monitoring systems, the Agency is positioning itself to fulfill its statutory obligations with transparency, efficiency, and accountability.
“The public is therefore advised to disregard the misleading reports and instead support NIMASA’s transformation journey as it aligns with the broader national objectives of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the agency said.
While assuring its commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s maritime governance, ensuring environmental safety, and optimizing revenue for the nation, the agency noted that its Deep Blue Project which currently enjoys global recognition also witnessed such resistance at the initial stage.
